Fantasy Kingdom Defense: The Cutest TD Game on Android

I’m not a frequent gamer. It’s not that I don’t like playing games – who doesn’t? – but my lower end Android device limits my choices down to games I usually don’t feel are worth my precious time.

So when I find a game that works on my device and is absolutely entertaining, it’s a keeper. Fantasy Kingdom Defense is one of the few games that I’m thankful to have come across. It’s fun, challenging enough and has a lot of personality.

The Rules

Fantasy Kingdom Defense is a tower defense game with a medieval setting. The objective is to defend the castle by slaying enemies coming out of a portal from the other side of the kingdom. You may choose from three basic defenders to begin with (knight, archer and mage) and will unlock three more in later levels (paladin, elf and warlock). The defenders must kill all monsters before they reach the castle gate. When you achieve this, the game lets you proceed to the next stage.

The game has two game modes – Campaign and Survival – and 20 levels.

The Main Menu and Game Modes Screen

In the beginning of each level, you’re given a specific amount of gold to purchase your fighters. Any additional gold must be earned by killing opponents.

Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses, and some of them can only kill a specific type of opponent. For instance, the archers do not do a lot of damage to an opponent, but they can kill (or hurt) all types of enemy; whereas the knights do more damage but can only kill opponents that do not fly. The mage does almost no damage to an opponent, but can slow it down through its freezing spell.

Choose and upgrade your fighters

You can upgrade existing characters in exchange for gold. This technique, I find, is more effective than buying new characters in the long run during later stages. But in this game, strategies must be executed with perfect timing.

Difficulty modes

Before the game starts, you can choose the level of difficulty and the corresponding amount of “gems” you can earn if you successfully finish that level. These gems are used for purchasing items on the shop to either strengthen your defenders or the castle gate.

Gameplay

The game controls are pretty simple and do not have all the intricacies of other advanced tower defense games. Tap on an appropriate spot on the map to get the menu for choosing your defenders. Icons on the bottom left (tick) and bottom right (cross) can be used to either confirm or cancel an action, and lead you back to the map to continue the game.

Defending the Castle

The simplicity of the objective removes any other controls needed to finish the game. Once you’re done placing all the defenses, you can hang back and watch the game progress.

Tap on a part of the map you want to go to, instead of swiping towards it. Swiping sometimes leads to inaccurate placement.

Graphics

There’s nothing special about the game’s graphics, but the child-friendly designs are easy on the eye and do not distract at all from the game’s overall quality. The cuteness factor is very appealing making the entire gaming experience fun.

The pause menu

Another thing I like about this game is its great image quality despite my device’s low screen resolution. Details still look clear and crisp and there are no blurry or pixelated spots at any point.

Sound

Again, sound effects are basic and few in this game. The music is the same for all levels, which can get annoying when you’ve been playing it for some time. I would have liked any kind of warning sound to alert me if my castle is under attack just in case I’m in another part of the map, as is featured in many other tower defense games.

Before the game starts, you have an option to disable the audio. There is also an option to control the sound during the game. Press Menuy and tap Audio On/Off to toggle it.

Other Features

The level of difficulty increases quickly as you play on the next stages, so this is not merely a game of chance or luck. The bottom part of the screen alerts you to what kind of monsters (and how many) are coming out of the portal so you can react accordingly.

If your strategies fail, there is an option to purchase items from the shop to further strengthen your defense. Gems earned throughout the stages can be used to purchase potions for your defenders or items to fortify your castle gate. There’s even a dragon available to slay your enemies for you. Note that items purchased here can only be used for one level and will not carry through the next one.

The shop screen

The game is also integrated with Facebook, so you can share your scores on your Timeline after each successful level. However, if this is something you don’t want to do, getting asked repeatedly is a bit of a nuisance.

Conclusion

Fantasy Kingdom Defense is a cute and simple game that might appeal to those with lower-spec devices who want to try a game that works seamlessly. For those who don’t usually play games, it’s a great choice for first-time tower defense players who are looking for a simple (but still challenging) game that they would easily understand and enjoy. This game proves that you don’t have to own a high-end device to have fun.